


Hard Times We Live In-Scorbus

by ShadowGirlcc



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Harry Potter - Freeform, M/M, Oneshot, Quarantine, Scorbus, this was a submission for my friends awards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:20:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24300478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowGirlcc/pseuds/ShadowGirlcc
Summary: Scorpius and Albus have been stuck in quarantine, and Albus is going slightly crazy.This was a submission for my friends Corona Awards, prompt: what would your otp be doing while stuck in quarantine?
Relationships: scorbus - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	Hard Times We Live In-Scorbus

Scorpius held some very firm beliefs.  
One was that the Daily Prophet was bullshit. Another was that most of the Ministry of Magic was corrupt and only cared about making money and staying in power. His third main belief was that he had no reason to trust any of what anyone was saying about this new "mystery illness" that had been going around.

Here were the facts that he knew:  
1) The illness had started spreading from Hogwarts  
2) All Hogwarts student and staff had been kept home to prevent the spread of the disease  
3) It was being called "Dragpox 20"  
4) The wizarding world was panicking about it and all people were being urged to remain isolated from each other. 

Here were the facts he had less of a solid belief in:  
1) It was supposedly a new strain of Dragon Pox  
2) There was no cure yet  
3) Over 500 witches and Wizards had the disease, and there had been roughly 200 deaths  
4) Ten of the victims were muggles  
5) The ministry had no idea how the disease originated  
6) Owls could carry the disease

Scorpius had a hard time believing a lot of the rumours surrounding Dragpox 20, and for a lot of reasons. After years of scrutiny and hounding from the Daily Prophet, he had no reason to believe what they had to say on anything more than the weather. He didn't trust a single person who worked for the Ministry of Magic, no matter how much he admired Harry Potter. Admittedly, a lot of that reasoning came from his dad.

Scorpius was therefore extremely pissed off that he had to spend a minimum of two weeks in isolation at his house before he would be allowed back at school. He was pissed because there was no way that the entire wizarding world was struggling to find an antidote, and there was no way this virus had occurred naturally. He definitely, however, wasn't pissed off because he had gone home for the Christmas break with Albus and now Albus had to stay with him at their house. It definitely wasn't because Albus looked cute in a winter sweater, and it definitely wasn't due to the fact that every time Albus scrunched up his nose in laughter, Scorpius' stomach swooped and his heart skipped a beat. Scorpius was in no way worried that spending two weeks of isolation, with constant exposure to Albus, would kill him before the disease did. Because if he had to spend two full weeks hiding how he felt around Albus, Scorpius didn't think he would make it. He wasn't pissed off for those reasons. Definitely not. 

"And today, lady's and gentlemen, marks the day that Albus Potter officially goes insane. Mark it well, for it shall be remembered in the years to come--"

"Are you quite done?" said Scorpius. "I said we would go outside once I'm done reading the paper."

"But I'm bored," Albus complained. "If I have to wait for you to finish that snot pile of paper called the Prophet I will go insane you know. I'll be talked about in history classes to come, one of the tragic victims of the Dragpox virus, killed not by the virus itself, but fallen from his own hubris."

"Hoe does hubris fall into any of this?" asked Scorpius.

"My hubris, it made me believe I could survive being trapped inside. I thought I could handle it. I was ready. But I was sorely mistaken."

"That's not what hubris means."

"It's my interpretation."

"That's not how language works."

"Language works however I want it to work."

Scorpius rolled his eyes and turned back to his paper. Albus groaned and slumped further down his seat.

They had been in quarantine for a week, and Albus had started to go a little stir-crazy. It didn't take long for him to get bored, and seeing as he had only planned on staying at the Malfoy's for a week he was going crazy. Scorpius had promised they would go outside that day, but he was taking far too long to finish his tea and read the newspaper. Why Scorpius even cared what the paper said was a mystery, given how much he publicly slandered it.

"It's best to know what lies are being told, so that you can make your counter arguments accordingly" was all he said about the subject.

******

Albus and Scorpius were having their breakfast in the sun-room on the bottom floor of the Malfoy's holiday house. It was a lovely brick house situated close to a small village in Wales, far enough away however to not be bothered by most people.

The cold winter sun was steaming through the large windows, lighting the garden outside so that the dew sparkled on every surface. The two had planned to go on a walk for about three kilometres, so that they could look at the flowers and get some fresh air. 

Scorpius finally set down the newspaper and drained the last of his tea, and then held out his hand towards Albus.

"Come on, aren't we going?"

The garden was sweet, filled with old-fashioned plants that were being kept alive during the winter by magic. Scorpius absent mindedley picked a green carnation and held it out for Albus, who took it and put it in his lapel pocket without missing a beat. There was a pause between the two of them, where they held eyes for a moment, before turning and continuing on. The grass was wet and brushed against their trouser legs, whilst the sun shone and caught on droplets, making the garden shine. 

Soon they had reached the lane-way that ran along the back of the Malfoys property, which led to the village one way and through the countryside and eventually, to the sea the other way. That was the direction that Albus and Scorpius now took, although they had no plans to walk as far as the sea that day. They hoped that they wouldn't run into anyone else. 

They wandered along slowly, glad to be out of the house. Scorpius swung his hand next to his side and if his hand accidentally brushed Albus', who was he to complain? 

***

They had been walking for about half an hour when they stopped in a small glade just off of the path.

"I know this probably stands to reason, but I am so glad to be out of your house," said Albus. "Don't get me wrong, it's a very nice house, but I think I might be going crazy."

"Oh no I noticed," smiled Scorpius.

"Please, if I ever have to stay in a single place for longer than a month, then just end me. I'm not kidding, end me." 

"What about Hogwarts?"

"Hogwarts is really big. It's too big to get bored of. And there's the grounds. They're big too. Everything is large at Hogwarts, even the pumpkins." 

Albus sighed, and looked down to the ground. The two were quite for a few minutes, Albus thinking to himself, Scorpius glancing around somewhat awkwardly. What do you say to a boy who is your best friend and also soul-suffocating crush, when it feels like you talked about everything that is safe to talk about? 

"Do you ever feel like you're constantly being judged by everyone?"

"Do you want to keep going or--"

They both started talking, then stopped, embarrassed, as they spoke at the same time. 

"You go first," said Scorpius. 

"It's just. I don't know, my whole family are Gryffindor's, and it's been on my mind recently," said Albus. 

"In what way?" Scorpius asked. 

"Sometimes I just feel like if you're not a Gryffindor, then it's not normal for you to be brave. Like people can only be brave if they are grouped into this one specific group of people. And it's such bullshit." He paused and looked to the sky, almost like he was nervous, Scorpius thought. "Cos being brave isn't always some big action, like saving the whole freaking world. It's also the little things, like facing bullies, or wearing what you want to the shops, or admitting to yourself that you like someone. Like really like them." He looked at Scorpius. "And. When I was a kid, I never thought that that would be so hard. Or that you needed to be brave to do it. But you do." 

There was another pause as Scorpius digested this. His stomach was suddenly filling with butterflies, and he felt both excited and horribly scared. Excited, because the over-dramatic fanboy part of his brain saw the potential of requited feelings, and terrified that Albus was talking about someone else and he was about to get his heart crushed. 

"I want to try something," Albus said. "Can you close your eyes?" 

Swallowing nervously, Scorpius did so.

He heard Albus move a little closer, and Scorpius was overwhelmed by the smell of him. It was only the scent of cheap deodorant, but in that moment it was intoxicating. 

"Wouldn't it be nice if we were both brave for once?" He whispered. 

He leaned in and kissed Scorpius on the mouth, and all of a sudden Scorpius thought he was going to faint. He hadn't been expecting this, even if he had hoped for it. He hadn't expected to feel Albus' lips on his, and taste a faint trace of tea and scones, and to feel Albus' hands around his waist, oh so gently. The kiss broke off gently, and Scorpius' eyes fluttered open to see Albus grinning nervously at him. He smiled back. 

"So..." trailed Scorpius, still smiling. 

"So," said Albus. 

"I... wasn't expecting that," said Scorpius. 

"But it was good? You're good with this?" asked Albus. 

"Oh definitely." 

******

Somehow, it had gotten to noon already. The boys had finished the walk and had returned to the garden where they sat under a giant oak tree, quietly leaning against each other. Albus had his arm around Scorpius' waist, and they were holding hands. The sun was shining, the morning dew had burnt off, and it was the most peaceful either of them had felt for a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> This was a submission for my friends Corona Awards, on wattpad.   
> This work is also on wattpad under the same username.


End file.
